WHO: WHO Director-General: invest in health to end plague in Madagascar “The Director-General of WHO has outlined his vision for a Madagascar free of plague epidemics during a three-day visit to the island nation that started on 7 January 2018. ‘Madagascar can make plague epidemics a thing of the past…

USAID’s “Global Health News”: 2017: A YEAR IN REVIEW “As 2017 ends, we share some key global health events, milestones, and highlights from the past 12 months of our efforts at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to prevent child and maternal deaths, control the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and combat…

Devex: USAID’s business forecast provides insights for the year ahead “…A total of 205 business opportunities with USAID are forecasted for the year ahead. The business opportunities range in value from $150,000 to $2.5 billion and provide opportunities for businesses to partner with USAID in delivering solutions for job development,…

Fox News: U.S. funding can save millions of lives through public health programs in 2018 Tom Frieden, president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies, and former CDC director “…[I]n 2018 we will be challenged to make additional progress in protecting public health on multiple…

The Hill: Legislators should focus on complementary roles of defense and global health Courtney Carson, policy and advocacy officer at the Global Health Technologies Coalition; and Danielle Heiberg, senior advocacy manager at the Global Health Council “In late December, President Trump released his National Security Strategy — his vision for…

Devex: What the U.S. National Security Strategy says about global development “The new United States National Security Strategy, released Monday, outlines a U.S.-centric development policy … [and] puts in writing what U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Mark Green has been saying in speeches since he took the position: That…

Financial Times: Pharma warning of Brexit impact to public health emergencies “U.K. pharma industry leaders have warned of the potential impact of Brexit on Europe’s capacity to respond to a continent-wide public health emergency, as they step up their drive to ensure the sector’s interests are addressed when the next…

IRIN: Diphtheria in Bangladesh Rohingya camps expected to double every few days “Diphtheria continues to rapidly spread in Bangladesh’s swelling Rohingya refugee camps, with aid groups predicting the number of suspected cases — reported at more than 700 as of this week — could multiply every few days, testing already…

Devex: Opinion: Leaving no one behind in disease outbreak response planning Andrew Zapfel, senior associate for health at Palladium, and Dulce Pedroso, manager at Palladium “…[H]uman rights must be at the forefront of all preparedness planning. … We need to look for examples of good practice beyond recent epidemic responses…